


Stand By Me

by FRMcL



Category: Breaking Bad, Supernatural
Genre: AU, Angst, Companionship, Friendship, Gen, Spoilers All BrBa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-19
Updated: 2014-11-19
Packaged: 2018-02-26 05:56:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 15,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2640614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FRMcL/pseuds/FRMcL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As fledglings, guardian angels are assigned a little boy or girl whom they have to take care of and stay with for the rest of their lives. In such world, Castiel is Jesse´s angel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A new Brother

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I’m a friend of FRMcL and well… First let me tell you the story of my story. It all began a few months back when I started watching Breaking Bad. I really liked the show and I think I became really attached with Jesse. I was always “looking out” for him and attentive to everything that happened to him. It angered me all the things he had to live through and the way no one seemed to care what happened to him. (Yes, I know Walt did care for him in his own special way but you have to admit he also made him do and did pretty nasty stuff to him.)  
> Well, by the time I finished watching To’hajiilee (I’m assuming everyone here has finished watching the series because the story contains spoilers for pretty much the whole show) I was this close to breaking down in tears and rage and frustration. I seriously wanted to scream into the sky “Why?” Just, “Why?” Seriously, I think I’ve just been this affected twice in my life. And neither of those cases have been about actual, living, breathing people.  
> Anyway, I didn’t want to watch the final episodes alone, so I called up this weirdo (my 50/50 partner, the Heisenberg to my Pinkman) and told her she was going to watch the series Felina with me, whether she wanted to or not. And now I think I’m deviating. Sorry :S  
> The point is! That I wrote this story because, even though I loved the finale and I was really happy with it, I still felt awful for poor Jesse and, I don’t know, I felt like he didn’t deserve any of the crap he got throughout the whole show. Particularly because he goes through most of it alone and I hated that. I felt like I owed it to him and well, this story was my way of coping and making it up to him.  
> So! Now to the technicalities:  
> The story has a little pre-show, but then it follows the story-line of Breaking Bad.  
> In this story Castiel is an angel but he still does human things like, eat and sleep.  
> Also, you may think, “If Castiel is Jesse’s guardian angel, why doesn’t he save him from the beginning and prevent him from becoming a junkie and getting into the meth business and all that…” but that’s not the point of the story. The point is that Jesse still does all that and he has to live with his mistakes and poor choices but the thing is, that he isn’t alone. Cas is there with him to make him company through it all and support him. Be his friend and be there with and for him even when everyone else is gone or walks away. 
> 
> Aaaaaand I am aware that there must be plenty of plot bunnies but just roll with me, okay?  
> Oh! Also, you should know that I was hesitant on publishing this. It was jamestandspock who talked me into it and well (if you’re reading this, and I know you are ;) ) I want to thank you for encouraging me and always being there with and for me. So, this one goes to you.  
> So… yeah. I think that’s all. Thanks for listening to my rant. Hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it :) I´d love to hear what you guys have got to say so please don’t hesitate about leaving a comment. Anything is welcome as long as it is constructive and you say it nicely :)  
> I won’t stall you further…  
> Happy reading! 
> 
> She won't but I will...hehehe.
> 
> This is an AU crossover of BrBa and Supernatural, from which I own nothing, and Cassie (my best mate if you were wondering) only owns the plot, well wherever the canon diverges. There's torture, angst and no actual ships but as I always say read as you will. Spoilers all throughout BrBa and none for Spn.

 

_“You don’t have to save me. Just hold my hand while I save myself.”_

Castiel hid behind his big brother as they walked across the room. It was completely white, with some white plastic chairs on the sides and little white tables in front of them. It was empty except for a lady behind a desk. Gabriel sat in one of the chairs and motioned Castiel to do the same. Cas sat down but couldn’t keep still; he swung his feet and banged them against each other. Gabriel noticed and turned to look at him.

  
“Nervous Cassie?” he asked. Castiel looked at him with fear in his eyes; he nodded. Gabriel laughed and rubbed his arm. “Don’t be. You’re gonna be great.” Castiel didn’t look convinced so Gabriel put his arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. “It’s going to be okay. I know it may seem like a lot of responsibility, but being a guardian angel is pretty fun! You’ll get to play with your kid, teach him or her tricks, sleep with him or her...” Castiel smiled. “That doesn’t sound so bad huh? You’re the one that’s always saying you want a little brother or sister”

  
Gabriel was right. Castiel loved his brothers and sisters but they were much older than him and had responsibilities. Gabriel was, along with a few exceptions from Balthazar, the only one that despite the age difference still found time to be with him and play with him. Having someone of his same age or younger would be nice, Castiel thought. His heart started to beat rapidly but now for an entirely different reason. He started to flap his wings excitedly and lift off from his chair but Gabriel grabbed his ankle and pulled him down.

“Whoa there, buddy! I know you’re excited but registration’s down here!” He sat him on his lap and started tickling him.

“G-Gabe, stop! That tickles!” Castiel giggled as he tried to pull Gabriel’s hands away from his tummy. The lady behind the desk smiled and called for Castiel. She watched as the little fledgling jumped from his brother’s lap and half ran, half flew towards the table. “Hi! Can I meet my little brother or sister yet? ” he asked, excitedly. He had to stand on his toes just to look over the desk. Gabriel grabbed him and lifted him so he was sitting on his hip. “Cas, where are your manners?” he told him. Castiel blushed and hid behind his wings.

“What do we say?” Gabriel said. Cas peeked from his hiding place.

“Sorry.” The lady laughed and stood up. She greeted Gabriel and then turned to Castiel.

“Hi there, Castiel” she said. “My name is Vidiel. How are you?”

“I’m good thanks. And you?”

“I’m good too. Thank you for asking. Are you excited?” Castiel nodded and giggled. Vidiel smiled and ruffled his hair. She walked back to her desk and picked up a piece of paper; she handed it to Gabriel and he read: “Pinkman, Jesse Bruce. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Born to Pinkman, Adam and Groff, Helen.” Castiel beamed. It was a boy! He was going to have a brother! He started wriggling until Gabriel let him go.

“Okay, okay. Easy there.” Cas ran to a nearby window and peeked. He saw a beautiful house and outside there was a little boy. He was sitting in the garden playing with two toy cars; he had sandy blond hair and the bluest eyes Castiel had ever seen. Well, besides his own. A woman, most likely the mother, came outside with a glass of lemonade and a piece of watermelon on her hand. The little boy ran to the porch and happily ate the snack.

“Aww isn’t he cute?” Gabriel had too, been watching from the window. Castiel hugged his brother’s leg and pointed.

“That’s my brother, Gabe!” Gabriel picked him up and chuckled.

“He sure is. You take good care of him, okay Cassie?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know big note small chapter, don't be sissies, if it bothers you at the top of the page there is a button to show the whole story.


	2. You are staying

 

“Yo Cas, wanna see a cool trick?”

It had been five years since the day Castiel had been assigned to Jesse Pinkman. He remembered that day vividly. Jesse had knocked him down with a baseball and Cas landed on the bushes. After apologizing and checking that nothing was broken, Jesse had invited him to his room where Castiel explained that he was, in fact, his guardian angel. Jesse hadn’t believed him at first but then Cas showed him his wings.

“No way!” Jesse said as he moved to touch them. Castiel extended his left wing and watched as the little boy ran his fingers through his feathers.

“And… Can you fly and stuff?” Castiel smiled and nodded. He climbed to Jesse’s bed and flapped his wings. Jesse’s mouth hung open as the angel flew from his bed to his desk.

“Can you… Carry someone else?” Jesse asked. Castiel climbed down from the desk and looked unsure.

“I-I don’t know. I’ve never tried it before.” Jesse ran towards him.

“Well right now is as good time as ever.” Castiel backed away.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea Jesse.” Jesse pouted.

“Oh c’mon Cas! It’ll be fine! Pleeease?” Jesse smiled, all teeth. Cas smiled too.

“Okay.” He put his arms under Jesse’s armpits and flapped his wings again. They hadn’t flown very high when…

“I c-can’t do it.” They fell and Jesse landed on his ankle. Castiel quickly ran to Jesse’s side. “Oh no! Are you okay? I’m so sorry Jesse” he said. But the boy just started laughing.

“Are you kidding me?! That was awesome Castiel!” He hugged him.“You are definitely staying!” They heard footsteps and Mrs. Pinkman ran inside.

“What on earth is going on up here?” She gasped when she saw Jesse’s ankle. “Jesse! What happened?” She lifted him up. “We’re going straight to the hospital!” When Cas got up and looked at Jesse he just winked. Castiel had lived at the Pinkman residence ever since.

“Who are you talking to, son?” Mr. Pinkman asked as he tried to pour some juice whilst reading the newspaper.

“I told you Dad, it’s Castiel”

Castiel was perched up on the counter surveying the family as they ate. He looked at Jesse and nodded. Jesse placed his spoon on the table and put a grape on one end, he then tapped the opposite end which made the grape fly and land on Jesse’s open mouth.

“Ta-da!” Castiel clapped excitedly but Mrs. Pinkman was not as amused. She glared at Jesse and he cleared his throat. “I’m done here, thanks Mom” he said as he jumped from the chair.

“Wait a minute young man!” Jesse stopped in his tracks. “What do we say?” his mother asked. He turned around and gave them the sweetest smile.

“May I be excused please?” Her mother smiled.

“You may.”

“Great! C’mon Castiel!” he said as he ran from the kitchen; Castiel not far behind. Mrs. Pinkman turned to look at her husband, a worried look on her face.

“Adam” she said. Her husband was too busy reading, to notice. “Adam!”  

“Huh?” he looked up.

“Would you stop reading for two seconds and pay attention to me?”

“What is it dear?” Mrs. Pinkman started pacing around.

“I’m worried about Jesse” Mr. Pinkman closed the newspaper and hugged his wife.

“It’s okay, Helen. You know how imaginative boys are these days” She sighed.

“I know. We went along with it at first but it’s been five years. Don’t you think maybe it’s time to…?” Mr. Pinkman didn’t gave her time to finish.

“It’ll pass. Besides when the baby arrives he’ll forget all about it” 

 


	3. Chapter 3

“You know,” Jesse was sitting in the front lawn with his legs stretched. Castiel was sprawled across Jesse’s legs like a dog meanwhile the other boy petted his wings. The two were watching as the sun set on the horizon. “Summer is ending and pretty soon I’m going to have to return to school” Castiel gripped Jesse’s jeans and whimpered. Jesse looked down at him. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” He soothed Castiel by sliding his hand along the angel’s wings. The feathers were extremely long by now. “It’s nothing we haven’t done a million times before. Why should this time be any different?”

But Castiel knew. This year Jesse would be a freshman at high school and that meant that he would be busier. Studying, hanging out with his friends, he would meet girls and go to parties… Castiel was not a jealous creature but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t scared. He shook his wings and hug-tackled Jesse. The blond yelped in surprise

“Yo! What’s wrong with you today?” He asked, but hugged the angel back. Jesse chuckled and patted him on the back. “C’mon, get off me Cas” Castiel rolled to one side and helped Jesse sit up.

“My apologies” he said with a half-smile. Jesse got up and dusted himself off. It was getting dark outside.

“Let’s go, buddy”

 -0-0-0-0-

Things got complicated after that. Tension was palpable on the house. Jesse was frequently absent and when he was home, his parents and him fought constantly. Castiel tried many times to approach him but each time Jesse would turn him down so he focused on taking care of Jake instead. The brothers couldn’t be more different. Jake was academically successful and held a good relationship with his parents. Meanwhile Castiel couldn’t understand what had happened with Jesse; his grades had dropped, he seemed careless and uninterested, and he would go out and return until the late hours of the night. But the worst part was that he was as distant as ever. Castiel decided he would do something about it.

It was late at night, Castiel was curled up on his pet bed in the corner of Jesse’s room, where he slept lately, when he heard the shuffling of feet. He looked up.

“Jesse?” He heard a sigh and a low whisper.

“Shit. Go back to sleep Castiel.” Cas walked towards him and saw Jesse climbing out of the window.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Climbing out the window, yo! What’s it look like I’m doing?” Jesse answered annoyed. Castiel tilted his head to one side.

“Why would you do that?” he asked, confused.

 “It’s none of your fucking business, is it?” Jesse hissed. Castiel frowned.

“No, it’s not but-” Jesse cut him off.

“You’re right. It’s not. So stop meddling in my business, yo!” Castiel backed off and laid on his bed again. Jesse sighed and climbed back inside. He sat next to Castiel and petted his hair.

“I’m sorry Cas. It’s just, sometimes I gotta do personal stuff by myself, you understand?” Castiel nodded and Jesse ruffled his hair.

“Okay, see you later, then.” The last thing Castiel saw was Jesse jumping out the window before he closed his eyes. 


	4. Chapter 4

 

They were arguing again. It was bad, different from all the other times. The volume had increased; as had the intensity. Castiel was hovering around Jake’s bedroom; the poor kid trying to do math homework. Castiel felt bad for him; no creature would have been able to accomplish anything with this racket. At last, Jake grabbed his headphones and seemed to relax a little. The shouting stopped and Castiel stepped out of the room. Jesse was fuming, he stomped his way to his room and slammed the door. Castiel opened it slowly.

 “We’re leaving.” Jesse anounced as he shoved his clothes into a duffel bag.

“What happened?” Castiel asked him.

“Bitch’s kicking me out.” Jesse replied without slowing down.

“I don’t think that’s a proper way to call your mother.” said Castiel innocently. Jesse turned to glare at him.

“Now I’m going to get a lecture from _you_? Don’t just stand there! Don’t you got shit to pack?” He threw another duffel bag to Castiel. He caught it but stood still.

“No, I just thought-“

“What? You want to stay? Whatever bitch, I don’t care” As Jesse walked past Castiel, he gripped the boy’s arm.

“I didn’t say that. You know I’ll go wherever you go.” Jesse turned to look at him. He had tears in his eyes.

“Then _pack._ ” He said through gritted teeth. With that, he left Castiel alone. Cas sighed, he picked up his bed and closed the door. Sitting next to Jesse, he took a last glance at the house that had been his home for the past thirteen years before speeding away.

\- 0-0-0-0-

Aunt Ginny’s house was nice. That’s where they were staying at now. She had been kind enough to let Jesse stay there until he graduated. Jesse went to school and Castiel stayed home to keep Aunt Ginny company. Aunt Ginny was sick. She had cancer. Both Jesse and Castiel made sure she was comfortable and had everything she needed but Aunt Ginny was a strong woman and insisted she was still healthy enough to help around the house. She was always cheerful and remained positive despite her disease; Castiel admired her for that.

It was in these months that Castiel noticed improvements in Jesse’s behavior. Although his grades were still low, he wasn’t as absent as before. He was more polite and helpful. He was attentive to Ginny’s and Castiel’s needs and didn’t sneak out in the middle of the night anymore. Castiel figured it was probably for his aunt’s sake. Castiel became Aunt Ginny’s companion. Always by her side. He slept at the feet of her bed, laid next to her chair. Even if she couldn’t see him, he was always there, ready to fetch anything she could want or need and make her comfortable.  

It was late afternoon, Aunt Ginny was resting on her armchair outside on the porch; Castiel laying on his stomach beside her.  They were admiring the view when Cas felt fingers running through his hair. He closed his eyes and fluffed his wings in pleasure.

“I thought you were going to stay late in the library, studying.” he said without opening his eyes. He heard a woman’s laugh.

“I’m not. Jesse is.” He froze and stood on his hands and knees to look at her.

“A-Aunt Ginny?” he asked, scared. She looked down at him and smiled.

“Hey there, Castiel.” Castiel didn’t know what to do. He looked at her in the eye.

“You, you can _see_ me?” No one was able to see other people’s angels. Some people even _chose_ to never see their angels and in the end they didn’t. Or at least that was what they had told Castiel. But here was Ginny, watching him and even _talking_ to him.

“Shh, shh it’s okay. Don’t be scared” she soothed. Castiel laid back on his belly and Ginny kept petting him. At one point he offered his right wing and she caressed it. Castiel closed his eyes and purred.

“He’s a good boy, Jesse.”  He opened one eye. “He’s just had a lot of problems lately.” Her hand slowed down. “Take care of him, little angel” The sun hid behind the horizon and Aunt Ginny’s hand stopped only to rest on Castiel’s wing.

“Aunt Ginny?” a familiar voice called. Castiel turned to look at Jesse, who had just stepped outside.

“No…” He saw him drop his bag with a loud _thud_ and run towards them.

“No, no, no, no, _no!_ Aunt Ginny!” he cried. He hugged her body and held her in his arms, rocking her back and forth. Tears started falling freely from his eyes. He buried his face on her hair and started sobbing. Castiel crawled next to him and rested his chin on Jesse’s leg looking at him with sad eyes. Jesse looked at him; eyes red from crying and ruffled his hair.

 They stayed that way for a long time.


	5. Chapter 5

 

“Aren’t you going to the funeral?”

“Yo, what part of ‘No’ don’t you understand?”

“But, I think she would have liked you to go”

“Castiel, drop it” Fine. Castiel settled for wandering around Jesse’s room. He picked up a cartoon of a man with what looked like a flask sticking out of his behind. He laughed an awkward laugh and Jesse stopped throwing his ball and sat up to look at him.

“What?” Castiel asked him.

“Did you just laugh?” Jesse asked, bewildered.

“No” said Castiel quickly; he was afraid he had done something wrong.

“Liar! You totally did!” Jesse smiled.

“Was it wrong?” Castiel asked concerned.

“No. Just… I didn’t know angels could laugh”

“Of course we can!” Castiel looked a little offended but the truth was that he didn’t laugh very often in Heaven. He had learned that and many other things from Jesse. 

Jesse lifted his hands in surrender.

“Fine, fine. Just saying.” Castiel looked again at the drawing.

“This is very good. Have you ever considered attending art school?” Jesse laid on his bed again and kept throwing the ball.

“Nah, my folks would never approve. My mom wants me to be a lawyer or study administration and shit. They said I would starve with a job like that”   

“You should be able to do whatever you want to do” Castiel turned the paper; on the other side written with red ink was this message: ‘Ridiculous! Apply yourself.‘

“Who wrote that?” he asked. Jesse glanced quickly.

“Ah, just my chemistry teacher, Mr. White. He’s always bitchin’ about how I should pay more attention in class and apply myself”

Cas placed the drawing on the table again. He walked to his bed and yawned.

“Maybe you should” The angel fell flat on his face and started snoring immediately. Jesse threw his ball one last time.

“Maybe I should”

0-0-0-0-0-0

Castiel jolted awake as Jesse slammed the door.

“What’s going on?”

“They have Emilio” Jesse said closing the curtains and peeking outside the window.

“What?” Castiel walked to stand beside Jesse. The man turned, grabbed Castiel by his shoulders and shook him.

“Emilio yo! My meth cooking partner?! They have him.” Castiel felt a little dizzy and placed a hand on his head.

“Who?”

“Who do you think, you idiot?” Castiel gave him a blank stare.

“You can’t possibly be this stupid. The DEA! The Drug Enforcement Administration!” Jesse started pacing around nervously. “Shit! The car!” Castiel followed Jesse to the garage.

“Jesse? Did you get followed?” They froze when they heard an engine and then someone closing a car’s door.

“Shit!” Jesse hid behind the car and slowly grabbed a wrench. A man entered. He looked old, maybe 50, he had glasses and a mustache.

“Hey, uh, it’s me.” he said. “I’m alone” Jesse ran a hand through his face.

“How’d you find me?” he asked.

“You’re still in our filing system.” The man answered. He waved an arm around, looking at the house. “So your aunt owns this place, right?” Jesse stood up.

“I own it.” He looked at the man nervously.

“Look, no one is looking for you”

“Why are you here?”

“I was curious.” He started walking towards the car. Jesse backed away, keeping his distance. The man continued. “Honestly, I never expected you to amount to much, but methamphetamine?” He chuckled. “I didn’t picture _that_. There’s a lot of money in it, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Jesse replied. Castiel looked at him as if saying, ‘Do not lie Jesse, he clearly knows’. Jesse spared him a quick look before returning his gaze to the stranger.

“No?”

“Not a clue”

“’Cap’n Cook’? That’s not you?” He lifted the car’s cover to reveal the license plates which read, ‘THE CAPN’. “Like I said, no one is looking for you”

“Look, I don’t know what you think you’re doing here Mr. White.” Castiel lifted his eyebrow. He pointed at the man.

“That’s Mr. White?” he said. Jesse looked at him and motioned for him to stand down with his hand.

“I mean, if you’re planning on giving me some bullshit about getting right with Jesus by turning myself in…”

“Not really” said Mr. White.

“High school was a long time ago” Jesse continued. “You ain’t ‘Welcome Back Kotter’ so step off. No speeches”

“Short speech” Mr. White said as he moved his thumb and index finger close together. Jesse scoffed and looked away. “You lost your partner today. What’s his name – Emilio? Emilio is going to prison” He walked around the car slowly. “The DEA took all your money, your lab. You’ve got nothing. Square one. But, you know the business and I know the chemistry. I’m thinking… maybe you and I could partner up.” Jesse looked at him like he had lost his mind; he chuckled.

“You, uh, you wanna cook crystal meth?” Mr. White nodded. “You?” Jesse couldn’t believe it. “You and, uh, and me?”

“That’s right” The man was dead serious.

“Wow” Jesse whispered, looking at the night sky.

“Either that,” The blonde turned to look at him, smiling. “Or I turn you in” His smile faded.


	6. Chapter 6

 

“Can you believe this shit?”

They were sitting in the kitchen. Jesse angrily spreading mayonnaise on a piece of bread. “That’s blackmail yo!”

“What would happen if you were to refuse?” Castiel said.

“Yo, you didn’t hear? Bitch will go running to the police and we’re done for!” Jesse scoffed and put a piece of ham on top of mashed up Funyuns. He closed the sandwich and slid the plate to Castiel.    

“And if you just got out?”

Jesse stopped, sandwich halfway to his mouth. He looked at the angel incredulously.

“Yes, you know, run away from here. Never look back. You don’t have to do this, Jesse.”

Jesse dropped his sandwich. “There’s no ‘getting out’ of this business Castiel.” He made a gun with his hand and aimed it at Castiel’s head. “Bang. That’s how you get out.” He pushed his plate away and got up from his chair. “And yes, I do.” He turned to leave. Castiel followed him with his gaze.

“Aren’t you going to finish your sandwich?” he asked.

“Not hungry” Jesse answered without looking back.

Mr. White ran across the kitchen and took out the gun from the drawer. “I’m taking this”

“No! It’s my gun, I need it!” Jesse struggled to take it from him.

“No, you don’t. Not if you leave town. Get out of here! Tuco killing Gonzo means he’s coming after us next. I’ve… I’ve gotta get home. My family.” He walked out.

“Jesse?” Castiel jumped out of the way as Jesse searched for his bag of money. He opened it; hundreds of bills rolled up inside. He looked up. “Get in the car”

Castiel did as he was told; Jesse followed. Neither of them saw the man already sitting inside. He pointed a gun to Jesse’s head. “Drive” he said.

They parked outside what Castiel recognized as Mr. White’s house. Jesse texted him. Shortly after peeking outside the window, Mr. White approached the car. “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked. Jesse looked at him, terrified. Tuco emerged from the back seat. “Get in” he instructed. Mr. White slowly climbed inside the car. Tuco pressed his gun to Jesse’s neck. “Let’s go”


	7. Chapter 7

 

Castiel didn’t like this room. He had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well. He was gazing from the window when he heard a voice.

“Ready?”

He turned around.

“Yo, for what, mind help?”

In, came a man in a suit followed by Mr. and Mrs. Pinkman. Castiel frowned when he saw them. It had been more than three years since he had last seen them. Their presence right here, right now, couldn’t mean anything good. He looked at Jesse as the young man let out a sigh.

“Not another intervention” Jesse said as he rested his head on his arms. Castiel sat down next to him and listened.

The man in the suit began reading. “Jesse Bruce Pinkman, according to section 47-8-13 of the New Mexico Property Code you are hereby given notice to vacate the premises listed as 9809 Margo, Albuquerque, 87104”

Castiel’s heart sank and Jesse lifted his head in surprise.

“Whoa! Wait. What? You’re kicking me out of my own house?” he asked.

Castiel looked at him with panic in his eyes. “What?! Th-They can’t do that! Can they?”

“It’s your aunt Ginny’s house” answered Mr. Pinkman.

“She gave it to me” said Jesse

“She never gave it to you Jesse”

Suit man spoke. “You were allowed residentiary privileges. Your parents have always been the property owners”

“Look, we’ve talked about this. I’d sell the house, we’d spilt 50/50. That was the deal. What the hell happened?”

“What happened is you’re a speed manufacturer” his father said.

“No, I’m not.” Jesse scoffed. “What?”

This time his mother spoke. “I saw your basement.” Jesse stared at her, then looked down. “I was worried, so I went over there and I let myself in and I found your… laboratory”

Jesse leaned back on his chair. “But it’s not even there anymore. I cleared it all out!”

“Son, we can’t stop you from ruining your life but you will _not_ drag us down with you” Mr. Pinkman stated. 

“Vacate the house in 72 hours, otherwise your parents have authorized me to contact the authorities. Is that clear? Do you have any questions for us?”

Castiel couldn’t believe it. His mouth hung open as the man continued. “Three days Mr. Pinkman”

 

They found a place up on Terrace Street. It was small with only two units. One of them belonged to their landlady, Jane Margolis. Jesse introduced himself as Jesse Jackson and with some persuasion he managed to rent the apartment. They laid low for a while and living next to Jane, it was not long before she and Jesse became romantically involved. Castiel was glad that Jesse had found someone. So many things had happened to them recently that it made him happy he finally had the break he deserved. Besides, Jane seemed like a nice girl.

After a while Castiel got used to having Jane around. She and Jesse became inseparable. They did everything together; they ate together, they hung out together, they watched TV together, they even got high together. The only time they were apart was when they were on their respective jobs.

 One night Castiel found his bed on the living room. He tilted hi head in confusion anddragged it back to Jesse’s room.

“Yo! What are you doing?” Jesse whispered.

The young man was laying on his bed; Jane next to him fast asleep. He got out of bed and shooed Castiel. “Out Castiel, out” He grabbed Castiel’s bed and walked outside, closing the door behind him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he whispered.

“I was ready to go to sleep and I found it odd that my bed was out here when its usual place is inside your bedroom. I was merely returning it to its rightful place.”

Jesse closed his eyes and pressed his palms to his face. “No, Cas, you’re going to sleep out here from now on.”

“Why?”

“Because, you watching me when I sleep… It’s creepy, yo.”

“You’ve never had a problem before.”

“Well, you know Jane is my girlfriend now and it would be weird if we all slept on the same room.”

“She doesn’t know I’m here. She can’t see me.”

“But _I_ can see you! And _I’ll_ know!” Jesse sighed and placed the bed on the corner next to the window. “Please, Cas” He patted the bed. Castiel laid down without another word. “That’s good, buddy. Thank you.” He left and returned shortly after with a blanket on his hands. He put it on top of Castiel and ruffled his hair. “Get some rest” he said before turning off the lights.


	8. Chapter 8

 

“Castiel! Oh God, Castiel wake up!!”

Castiel woke up to Jesse shaking him. He opened one eye. “Jesse?”

The man looked terrible. His hair was messy, he had bags under his eyes, he was shaking and his eyes were red and puffy like he had been crying non-stop. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?” Castiel sat up, alarmed. Jesse grabbed him from his sleeve and started pulling him towards his bedroom.

“I-Its Jane, s-she’s not w-waking up” he sobbed. “I-I tried to… but s-she wouldn’t…” he got choked up.

As they entered, Castiel saw Jane on the bed; she was laying on her back with dry vomit on the corner of her mouth. Overdose.

“Please Cas, y-you have to d-do something” Jesse said as he gripped Castiel’s trench coat.

Castiel walked towards Jane and sat on the bed. He placed a hand on Jane’s forehead and closed his eyes. Jesse looked at him and then at Jane. Nothing happened. Castiel opened his eyes again. “I’m sorry, Jesse. She’s gone.”

Jesse fell to his knees “No… Don’t say that. Don’t you say that to me.”

Castiel kneeled beside him. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders as Jesse sobbed and shuddered. “I’m so sorry, Jesse. I truly am”

He nodded and wiped off his tears. He suddenly looked up at Castiel. “Bring her back” he demanded.

Castiel was taken aback “What?”

Jesse grabbed him by the flaps of his trench coat. “You heard me. You’re an angel, you can bring her back.”

“No, Jesse, I can’t. It goes against the natural order.” 

“It wasn’t a suggestion Castiel.” Jesse said suddenly angry.

“Jesse, I know you are hurt but you cannot ask me to do this. Please, just- Let’s go.” Cas grabbed his hand but Jesse pulled it away.

“No! Go away Castiel! I don’t want you here!”

Castiel gasped. “No, wait, Jesse...”

“What?! Can you save her or not?!” he yelled; tears streaming down his face.

Castiel looked down.

“Look at me!” Castiel looked at Jesse in the eye. He shook his head.

“Then what is the point of you?”

 

Castiel didn’t appear again after that. He was still around Jesse, though. Always with him, always looking after him. But Jesse didn’t see him anymore. Not after their fight two weeks ago.

After leaving Jane’s apartment, they had ended up on a crack house. It was a horrible place; full of trash and sin it was. Castiel took special care of Jesse during this period. He was rarely conscious. Most of his time, he spent it smoking, or high. But Castiel was always at his side, making sure he didn’t OD and that no one harmed him. Although everyone here was just as inactive so the only real threats were Jesse’s vices.

One afternoon, Castiel saw a familiar face. Mr. White! He turned to Jesse, “Mr. White, Jesse! He’s here!” he whispered happily, even though he knew he couldn’t be heard.

Mr. White ran when he saw Jesse. “Jesse. Jesse, look at me, son.” He said as he cradled the boy’s head. “Wake up, wake up”

Castiel shook his head. “It’s no use Mr. White. He’s high as a kite.” He said.

“Hey” Jesse said sleepily. “I got nothing for you, man. It’s all gone.”

“Jesse, no, wake up. Hey.” Jesse grunted, he started struggling. “Jesse, Jesse. Jesse, it’s me. It’s me. It’s Walt, Jesse” The older man assured him and Jesse calmed down. 

“Yeah” he said sluggishly.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here” Mr. White started to carry Jesse.

“No, no, no, no. I’m fine” He dropped him back on the dirty mattress.

“Help me out now”

“I’m good, I’m good” Jesse said. He muttered something else but Castiel didn’t quite caught it.

Mr. White didn’t give up. “Listen Jesse, you’re not good right here. You are not good at all, you hear? Just, put your arms around me. Come on.” He lifted Jesse once more. “You’re gonna stand up and we’re gonna, we’re gonna walk out of here, ok? I’m gonna take you some place nice and safe.” Jesse put his arms around Mr. White’s waist. “That’s it. That’s it, let’s go. Come on. Here we go” Castiel heard a sob. Mr. White looked down at Jesse; he was crying. He put his hand on the blonde’s head. “Shh, shh” His sobs intensified. “It’s okay” He rocked them from side to side.

“I killed her” Jesse said between sobs.

“What?” Mr. White whispered.

“I killed her! It was me!”

“No, no, Jesse, look at me. Look at me.” They were now face to face. “You didn’t kill anybody”

“I loved her” he said quietly. “I loved her more than anything”

Mr. White shook his head and hugged him tightly. 


	9. Chapter 9

 

Weeks of rehab finally paid off as Jesse was released. The first thing he did was buy his old house from his parents with help from his friend and lawyer, Saul Goodman. They had been renovating it, so now it was much different from the dirty, messy thing it had been after Aunt Ginny’s death. No sign of the lab on the basement or the hole the disposal of Emilio’s body had created on the bathroom’s tub. It was perfect for Jesse’s fresh start. He moved in right away.

Although it had been three months since Jane’s death, Jesse still called her number just to hear her voice. This continued for many days until at last her number was disconnected. He closed his phone and sniffled. He slumped against the wall and sat with his legs to his chest. He looked around with teary eyes.  

“Castiel? A-Are you here?”

Castiel looked up in surprise. He had been sitting against the opposite wall. It was the first time Jesse had spoken to him in months.

Jesse laughed at himself. “He’s not here you idiot. You sent him away, remember?” He curled up around himself and leaned his head on top of his arms. “I’m sorry, Cas” he whispered.

Castiel ran to Jesse’s side. “No, no, no, no, no. I’m right here, Jesse. I’ll never leave you. Wherever you go, I go, remember?” He looked desperately for a way to show Jesse he was still there with him. He threw the magazines off the table and Jesse looked up. “Huh?” He wiped the tears from his face. Castiel flapped his wings to make the curtains move.

“Castiel?” he asked.

“Yes! Yes, I’m here, Jesse!”

Jesse crawled to the center of the room. “Please come back. Please, please, please” He closed his eyes and hugged himself. “I need you”

Castiel wrapped his arms around his kid. “Shh, it’s okay. I’m here. I never left” He appeared again and Jesse gasped.

“Cas?” he looked up at him.

“Hi Jesse” he said with a sad smile.

Jesse hugged him tightly and didn’t let go. “I’m s-sorry!” he cried. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You have nothing to apologize for” Castiel said as he ran his fingers through his hair, comforting him.

 

 

Jesse had barely opened the door when Castiel saw Hank’s car parking in the front lawn.

“Is that Hank?” Castiel asked. He watched as the man got off his car and started walking towards them. He looked angry. “Jesse, maybe you should get inside”

“Shh, no, wait.” He told Castiel. “Hey you got nothing on me, yo!” he told Hank; Castiel could tell he was nervous. “Alright, you can call my lawyer, Saul Goodman” Hank didn’t stop. Okay, maybe angry was an understatement. “Talk to my lawyer, alright? Hey, you hear me? I’ve got nothing so say! I told you, call my-” Jesse didn’t get the chance to finish the sentence as Hank’s fist collided with his nose and sent him flying inside the house.

“Jesse!” Castiel screamed as he ran behind them.

Jesse put his hands around his injured nose. “Ow! Christ!”

Hank sat on top of him and started beating him. “You have my cellphone number?!” He punched him. “You have my wife’s number?!” He punched him again. “How’d you do it?!”Another punch. “TALK! Who are you working with?!” By then, Jesse had already passed out. Castiel watched as Hank slowly got off of Jesse and left the house. He ran to Jesse’s aid.

“Jesse! Jesse wake up! Wake up!!” He shook him. He didn’t respond. “Oh, no. Oh no, oh no, oh no! Jesse!” Outside, Hank dialed for an ambulance but Castiel had long gone with Jesse on his arms.

 “Help! Help me, please!” Castiel pleaded as he landed inside the hospital. No one reacted. _They can’t hear me!_ He thought, panicking. He sat Jesse on one of the chairs and, grabbing one of the nurse’s clipboards, he slammed it against the floor in front of the young dealer. That caught their attention. Nurses started running around, talking into their pagers. “I’m in need of a stretcher, we have a white male, early twenties, with possible head trauma…” Castiel followed them as they took Jesse away.

“You’re going to be okay Jesse. I promise.”


	10. Chapter 10

 

Some days later, Mr. White came to visit. He looked horrified with what Hank had done but he was quick to start talking business again with Jesse.

“I want us to be partners again” he said. “Split everything, 50/50, just like before. 1.5 million dollars. Each.”

“No” Jesse answered.

“I don’t think you heard me” Mr. White said.

“I heard you fine. I said no”

Mr. White insisted. “You understand this: You are turning down one and a half million dollars…”

“I am not turning down the money!” Jesse snapped. “I am turning down you! You get it? I want NOTHING to do with you! Ever since I met you, everything I ever cared about is gone! Ruined, turned to shit, dead, ever since I hooked up with the great Heisenberg! I have never been more alone! I have _nothing! No one!_ Alright, it’s all _gone,_ get it?! No, no, no, why… why would you get it?” Tears started falling from the side of his face that was not swollen. “What do you even care, as long as _you_ get what _you_ want, right? You don’t give a _shit_ about me! You said I was no good. I’m nothing! Why would you want me, huh? You said my meth is inferior, right? Right?! Hey! You said my cook was GARBAGE! Hey, screw you, man! Screw _you_!”

Mr. White left after that but not without saying: “Your meth is good, Jesse. Every bit as good as mine.”

Castiel had never seen Jesse lash out like that with anyone. Not even with him. He didn’t move from his position; perched up in a chair next to the window. _You are not alone Jesse. You have_ me _. You’ll always have me._

 

 

Time is running out. _Gale Boetticher must die._ Mr. White said he would take care of it. All he needed was the address. _Apartment 6, 6353 Juan Tabo Blvd._ But now everything’s gone wrong. He’s at the laundry. Victor and Mike have cornered him.

The phone rings. Jesse rushes forward and picks up. “Did you do it? Mr. White?”

“Did you do it?” he asks again.

“No, I didn’t do it” comes the reply. “I can’t now. It’s gonna have to be you”

“What? No way, man.”

“Listen to me. You’re closer than we are. You’ll have about a 20 minute lead, they got me in the laundry. They’re going to kill me. Jesse, do it now! Do it!”

“Do it Jesse! Now, do it!” Castiel hears Mr. White shout over the phone.

Jesse picks up his gun.

“Jesse” Castiel says.

“Not now, Castiel. I don’t want you there. Please, do _not_ follow me” Jesse pauses and takes deep breath. “I’ll be right back”

“You’re going to kill a man” Castiel says, matter-of-factly.

“Shit! Don’t you think I know?!” Jesse snaps “I don’t have time for this! I gotta go”

“I’ll go with you”

Jesse turned around and put his hand in front of Castiel’s chest to stop him. “No, you’re not. Don’t you understand?! I don’t _want_ you there. I don’t want you to _see!_ ”

“I don’t care. Last time, I granted you that, but not now. Not when I know you need me.”

Jesse lifted his hands in exasperation. “Fine! Whatever”

They drove in silence. Jesse knocked on Gale’s door and the man opened it.

“Hi, how can I help you?”

Jesse aimed the gun at Gale’s head. The man backed away, scared.

“Um, take whatever you want” he lifted his hands in surrender. “I have money, I-I have… I gotta lot of money”

Jesse’s hand was shaking. Tears threatened to fall down his cheeks.

“Please, don’t do this” Gale exhaled. “You, you don’t…” He started crying. “You don’t have to do this”

Castiel closed his eyes as the sound of the gunshot filled the otherwise quiet night.


	11. Chapter 11

 

The party went on for more than three days. Castiel figured it was Jesse’s way of coping with Gale’s murder, but he worried about him. This wasn’t healthy at all. The music was at its highest volume, there were pizza boxes, beer bottles, cigarettes, even slices of half-eaten pizza all over the furniture. People passed out on the floor to the point where Castiel had to _fly_ in order to move around the house. It became a routine. Every time things seemed to calm down, Jesse would turn up the music, wake everyone up, and leave money for more pizza before leaving for work.    

Castiel, ever the observer, quickly realized that Jesse felt a void inside of him and that this never-ending party was his way of filling it. He had noticed that Jesse wasn’t a 100% there whenever he came home. He would sit down and stare at nothing in particular while everyone else continued with their partying like there wasn´t a care in the world.

One particularly bad day, after Badger and Skinny Pete left, Jesse broke down completely. He turned up the music and sat in front of the speakers, looking at the mess his house had become. Castiel turned down the volume and, with a black garbage bag, started cleaning the living room.

“Why are you still here?” he heard Jesse say.

Castiel stopped what he was doing. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No, I mean, why do you keep up with me and my shit? Aren’t you tired of me always screwing up? I’m a monster. A goddamn junkie who can’t get anything right.”

“You are _not_ a monster, Jesse. You are a good man”

Jesse scoffed and smiled sadly. “Yeah, right”

“I mean it.” Castiel resumed with his cleaning. “Believe me, I know a thing or two about monsters. And you, Jesse Pinkman, are not one of them. I won’t deny it, I think you’ve made some poor choices”

Jesse laughed bitterly. “You and I both”

Castiel continued. “But all those times you’ve redeemed yourself and tried to do better.”

“Tried and failed. Honestly, I wouldn’t bother with a piece of shit like me.” Jesse said as he hugged his legs and buried his face on his arms. “I’m hopeless”

Castiel placed a hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “Just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn’t mean they can’t be saved” He gave it a gentle squeeze and left for the kitchen.

 

 

The phone buzzed for the fourth time. “Jesse” Castiel said sleepily. “Jesse, the phone”

“Huh?” Jesse ran a hand through his face and picked up. “Hello?” he croaked. He immediately sat up. “What? Hey, hey. What’s wrong with him? What hospital?” he said urgently.

Castiel was quickly on Jesse’s side. “What is it?”

Jesse looked at him with panic in his eyes. “It’s Brock. He’s at the hospital. Oh God, I need to get there” Castiel didn’t need to hear anything else. He grabbed Jesse by his arm and spread his wings. The next thing Jesse knew, they were standing in the hospital’s parking lot. He shook himself and thanked Castiel before running off towards the entrance. 

Castiel followed him. Upon entering, he saw Andrea filling some forms.

“Jesse” she breathed.

“Where’s Brock?” he asked.

“They got him inside. Grandma’s with him.” She sniffled. “They got me filling up all this paperwork”

Jesse grabbed her by her arms. “How is he? Tell me what’s going on” he said softly.

“The doctors… They don’t know what it is exactly. It’s like he’s got the flu! But he just keeps getting worse.” She broke down crying. Jesse hugged her.

“Jesse, I don’t understand. He was fine this morning” she cried. “He was fine!”

A nurse came out of a room. “Andrea Cantillo?” she called.

“Right here” Andrea answered.

“Mrs. Cantillo, we’re gonna go ahead and take your son to pediatric IC.” She motioned the papers in Andrea’s hand. “You can bring that with you”

They started following the nurse but she stopped them.

“Sir, are you the boy’s father?” she asked Jesse.

“No” he replied.

“Okay. I’m sorry it’s just, we try to keep it two visitors maximum.”

Andrea turned to Jesse.

“Go, go. I’ll be right here if you need me. Go” Jesse said.

He sighed and went outside to smoke a cigarette.

“He’ll be okay” Castiel said.

Jesse didn’t pay attention to him; he was staring at his cigarette pack. He started taking out the cigarettes, tearing them apart.

Castiel looked at him and cocked his head to one side. “Jesse? Is everything alright?”

“No, no, no, no, no. C’mon, c’mon.” He ran back inside. “No!”

He opened the door to another section of the hospital. He ran inside calling for Andrea.

“Andrea!” he said when he spotted her.

“Hey, hey, no yelling” a nurse scolded him. She stopped him. “We can’t have you back here!”

“No, no, I need to talk to her” said Jesse desperately.

Andrea approached the pair.

“You two, just take this outside” the nurse whispered.

“Okay, okay” Jesse said as he tugged Andrea out of there.

Andrea pulled away. “My son is sick in here!”

“No, just… Come here” he resumed pulling her until they were back in the main room.

“What is it? Jesse, I can’t go. My son is here”

They stopped in the middle of the room, face to face. “I think Brock may have been poisoned, okay?” Jesse said breathless.

“What?”

“T-There’s this stuff, this stuff called ricin. Alright? It sounds like ‘rice’. You need to tell the doctors about it”

“W-Why would you say that? How would you know?”

“It doesn’t matter. Just tell them it’s a guess, okay? Ricin. They’ll know what you’re talking about”

“Jesse” said Andrea scared. “If there’s something you’re not saying, you gotta tell me”

Jesse backed off towards the exit. “I gotta go. I gotta see someone”

“Jesse!”

“Look, I’m sorry. I got to go. Just tell them, okay? Now! Just do it!”

Jesse came running out. His heart racing. “Castiel! You gotta get me to Mr. White’s house, okay?”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down!” said Castiel, preoccupied.

“Now Cas! Do it!”

Castiel grabbed him and landed in Mr. White’s front door. Jesse knocked on the door.

“What do you want?” came his voice from behind the door.

“We need to talk” Jesse said.

“Who’s with you?”

Jesse looked at Castiel; the angel returned the look. “No one, it’s just me. Let me in”

Mr. White opened the door and pulled Jesse inside. Castiel barely had time to enter before the door was shut again.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking coming here” Mr. White told Jesse. He looked pretty shaken. “Oh Christ, what does it matter? It’s all coming to an end. Do you even _know_ what’s happening? The full scope, of what is happening? They took me out into the desert! They put a hood over my head and drove me out into the desert, on my knees. They threatened my family! And not just Hank. My wife, my children!” He started hyperventilating. “It’s just a matter of time now” he said as he sat down. “I was able to protect them for now but… Gus is gonna make his move”

A car made a turn and Mr. White started running around, paranoid, peeking from the windows. “And I-I don’t know when. I don’t know where or how…”

Castiel saw as Jesse slowly picked up Mr. White’s gun from where it rested on the couch.


	12. Chapter 12

 

“All I know is that it’s going to happen” Mr. White continued. Jesse raised his arm and aimed the gun at Mr. White. “And I’m powerless to stop it.” He froze when he saw him.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Why’d you do it?” Jesse asked him in return. “Why?”

“Jesse… Gus gave me no choice. I had to call the DEA to protect my family”

“No. No, you son of a bitch. You know what you did”

Mr. White raised his hand to calm Jesse down. “Okay, look just, just put the gun down okay? Just put it down and we’ll talk, alright? Y-you tell me what it is you think I did”

“Brock” Jesse said simply. “Why did you poison him?”

“Who’s Brock?” asked Mr. White confused.

“You saw him in my living room just last night. You came into my door and you looked right at him so don’t _tell_ me you don’t know him!”

“Th-The boy? Jesse, I-I have no idea who this people are. N-Now please, okay, that’s Brock and he was poisoned?”

“The ricin! He’s dying ‘cause someone gave it to him! And only you and I, we’re the only two people on earth who knew about it!”

“No, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Maybe he went into your pockets…”

“No! I had it! I had the cigarette with the ricin in my pack this morning.” He breathed sharply. “The last time I saw Brock was last night. And this morning I switched the cigarette into a new pack. There’s _no way_ Brock took it himself!”

Mr. White was terrified now. “Jesse, you’re not thinking clearly. Y-You said it yourself, that you had it this morning, then when could I have possibly gotten it?”

“You, you had Saul do it” Jesse said, unsure.

“What?”

“Yeah, yeah, I went to his office. He called me. He just _had_ to see me today. His big man bodyguard patted me down, that’s when he must have stolen off of me, right? That’s the plan! Was that the plan?!”

“Jesse…” Mr. White said sadly. “Why? Why in God’s name, would I poison a child?”

“To get back at me! Because I’m helping Gus and this is _your_ way of ripping _my_ heart out before you’re dead and gone! Just admit it! _Admit_ what you did! Admit it!!”

“I didn’t do this!” Mr. White yelled desperately.

“Shut up!” Jesse snapped as he shoved Mr. White. “STOP LYING!”

“I’m not, I’m not lying” Mr. White said from the floor. “I’m not lying! Just listen. Listen to me. What would I win from that? What could I possibly…? Who, who would be…? Oh my God…” he suddenly realized. He started laughing at the absurdity of it all. Castiel frowned, he was clearly missing something.

“Stop laughing.” Jesse said. “STOP LAUGHING!”

At last, Mr. White stopped. “I have been waiting all day, waiting for Gus to send one of his men to kill me…” He looked right at Jesse. “And it’s you. Who do you know, who’s okay with using children? Jesse, who do you know, who’s allowed children to be murdered, hmm? Gus! He has been ten steps ahead of me at every turn. And now, the one thing that he needed to finally get rid of me is your consent. And boy, he’s got that now. He’s got it. And not only does he has that but he manipulated you into pulling the trigger for him”

Jesse refused to believe him. “No, only you and I knew about the ricin”

“No!” Now it was Mr. White’s turn to shout. “You don’t even believe that! Gus has cameras everywhere, please. Listen to yourself!” He scoffed. “No, he’s known everything all along. Where were you today? In the lab?! And you don’t think it’s possible that Tyrus lifted the cigarette out of your locker? Come on! Don’t you see? You are the last piece of the puzzle. You are everything that he’s wanted. You’re his cook now. You’re the cook and you have proven that you can run a lab without me. And now, that cook has reason to kill me. Think about it! It’s BRILLIANT. So go ahead. Come on. If you think that I am capable of doing this, then…” he grabbed Jesse’s hand and positioned the gun to his head “Put a bullet in my head and kill me right now”

Jesse breathed through clenched teeth. “I’ll do it”

“DO IT!” Mr. White challenged. “Do it!”

“I’ll do it” Jesse repeated.

“Do it” Mr. White said for the last time.

Jesse’s hand shook. He was crying. Castiel stood still, watching in suspense for a few agonizing seconds. Heart beating fast. After what felt like an eternity, Jesse lowered the gun. Castiel let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Mr. White exhaled and looked down. Jesse walked away.

“Where are you going?” Mr. White asked without looking at him.

“To find the son of a bitch and I’m going to kill him”

“No! Don’t. He’ll see you coming” he walked up to Jesse, who had his hand on the doorknob. “You’ll die before you get anywhere near him”

“I don’t care” Jesse said emotionless.

Mr. White grabbed the other man’s arm. “Jesse, just get in your car. Just, go. Just drive”

“No. I’m going to do this one way or another, Mr. White” he said determined.

“Then let me help” 


	13. Chapter 13

 

Obtaining the methylamine was becoming a problem. They had tried to get it from their supplier, a woman named Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, but that didn’t work after they discovered one of her barrels had a tracking device planted by the DEA.

Mike had wanted to kill her, claiming that it was Lydia who had planted the GPS and not the police but Jesse had adamantly opposed. With Mr. White’s support, they talked him out of it. They arranged a “meeting” instead to find out if it really had been Lydia who had planted the device. After listening through a bug, they realized that the DEA _had_ in fact planted the GPS but the problem about the methylamine still stood.

“Hey! You still need methylamine, don’t you?” Lydia said from where she sat, handcuffed to the table. “You wanna talk methylamine? Then tell your partner to stop threatening me and let’s talk”

“Talk about what? You heard.” said Mr. White motioning to the computer where they had been listening from. “You can’t even give us a single barrel”

“Who said anything about barrels? I’m talking about an _ocean_ of this stuff”

After that, they sent Mike and Jesse outside meanwhile Mr. White talked to Lydia. A few minutes later they called them back in. Lydia spread a map on the table.

“Once a week, on a Wednesday, a freight train leaves the port of Long Beach loaded with industrial chemicals. There’s always at least one tank car full of methylamine which we import from a manufacturer in Guangzhou. The train travels east to Arizona, stops in a rail yard outside of Flagstaff where it gets broken down and rebuilt, but the methylamine always moves on, destined for our pesticides factories in Texas and Oklahoma. Which means, that it passes right through your home state” she signaled on the map. “There’s a remote stretch here in McKinley County. That’s where you do it”

“That’s where we do, what, exactly?” asked Mr. White.

“Get your methylamine” said Lydia like it was obvious.

“Like, rob it?” Jesse interrupted. “Like Jesse James?”

“You want the stuff? I’m offering you enough to fill a swimming pool” Lydia said.

Mike wasn’t convinced. “You are offering us a quick way to prison, that’s what I’m hearing. Stopping a train, post 9/11. Do you have any idea how many alarms that’s gonna set off between here and DC?”

“None, if you do it right here” Lydia pointed. “If a freight train is stopped in transit anywhere other than the usual yards or depots, absolutely, a signal will automatically warn the FRA and the TSA Surface Division, at the department of Homeland Security. But what you don’t know, and I do because my job requires me to keep track of our buyers’ shipments, this,” she motioned a certain area in the map. “is dark territory.”

“What’s that?” asked Jesse.

“Train-speak for an area of no contact. It’s a dead zone. No automated supervision system, no alarms, no contact with control”

“What about cell phones? Crew could just call the cops”

“No cellular either. I’m telling you. It’s the perfect place. You’d have time to stop the train, siphon off as many methylamine as you can carry and get away before the police are called.”

Mr. White lifted his hands and turned away. “Wait a minute, wait a minute. Assuming we could stop a moving train, how do we know we have the right one? And which tanker car is which? I can’t believe that they would advertise their contents”

“Once the train gets rebuilt in Flagstaff, a final manifest gets uploaded to my company’s server. I’ll have it for you sometime between midnight and 2:00 a.m. That’ll give you at least six hours of lead time. Keep in mind, I’m taking a huge risk supplying this information. I expect to be paid.”

Mike scoffed and Lydia looked at him. “We can talk percentages later”

“You know what this means don’t you?” Mike asked. Apparently they didn’t. “We gotta off the crew” he said like it was obvious.

“How’d you figure?” asked Mr. White.

“Well, if we don’t, the engineer’s gonna call the cops as soon as he gets off the dead zone. It’s only three miles long”

“But we’re way out in the boonies” said Jesse.

“I don’t care if it’s in the Gobi desert. Once they get word, the FBI and Homeland Security are gonna swoop down with choppers on us so fast it’ll make our heads spin. And there is _no_ hiding in that open country”

“How many in the crew?” Mr. White asked Lydia.

“Just two. An engineer and a conductor. No guards”

Castiel, who had been listening from afar, suddenly approached Jesse. “That seems a little extreme, couldn’t you just tie them up?” he asked. Jesse voiced this.

“And then what?” asked Mike. “Even if we wore a mask we would be leaving two witnesses behind. Bottom line, I have done this long enough to know that there are two kinds of heists: Those where they guys get away with it,” He looked at Jesse. “And those that leave witnesses”

“Give me a break” Lydia scoffed. “You guys were gonna murder _me_. I thought you were professionals” 


	14. Chapter 14

 

Back at Jesse’s apartment, Mike spoke “Well, if no one is gonna offer an opinion, I will. We do it the old-fashioned way, we hit skid row, The Crystal Palace, all the half-way houses, scrounge up about a dozen skells, and put them to work smurfing cold pills.”

“You mean switching back to a pseudo cook” Mr. White said.

“You are the chemist.” Mike told Mr. White. “Admittedly it’s gonna cut down on our output”

“Like a factor of four of five. It also means that we will eat $80,000 dollars we just invested in our new lab equipment, which is only good for a P2P cook. You know, I don’t have to do the math to know that we’d be making a fraction of the profit”

“And making less money is better than making nothing”

“Oh yeah, Mike? Well why don’t you tell us why? Why is making nothing not an option?”

“Walter…” Mike warned.

“Let me tell you why” Mr. White said, not caring. “It’s because of your nine guys in lockup, right?”

“You broke it, you pay for it! And we’ve talked about this plenty already”

“Well, maybe we better talk about it a little more because what it sounds like you’re telling me, Mike, is that from now on, we have no choice but to do this piddling pseudo cook so that we can pay back _your_ guys. Or else what? Or else they’re gonna rat on us, and we end up in prison.”

“Yeah, and it sounds like what you’re telling me, Walter, is that you wanna do this heist even if it means killing a couple of innocent men. That what you want?”

Jesse kept looking at them back and forth, while playing with his beer, like they were an old married couple. “What if we could rip off that train, and no one ever knows it got robbed?” he suddenly said. The two men turned to look at him as if they had suddenly remembered he was there.

 

 

“I think it is time that I go Cas” Jesse said as he drove around town.

Castiel looked at him. “Are you leaving town? I’ll go with you”

Jesse chuckled. “I know you would, but no. I didn’t mean that. I meant that I have to leave this life behind. Nothing good has come out of it. At least not for me. You were right. I should’ve never agreed to cook with Mr. White in the first place” He said as he parked outside the HQ where Mike was waiting.

“What’s going on?” Castiel asked.

Jesse gave him a small smile. “I’m getting out.” He got off the car and entered the office.

Mr. White showed up sometime later. Mike explained to him that it was too dangerous for him to continue their partnership, as the DEA had been all over him. Mr. White totally flipped out and told him this couldn’t go on.

“Yeah, I know. And I’ve already decided. I’m out.”

“Okay, well… Sorry to see you go Mike. But I really don’t see any other way” Mr. White said as if he’d made the decision.

“Neither do I” Mike responded.

Mr. White turned to Jesse. “Obviously, Jesse, you’ll have to take over the distribution end of things” He looked over at Mike. “Mike, I trust that you’ll bring Jesse up to speed on your side of the business?”

“Yeah. Um, about that.” Jesse spoke softly. “Actually, Mr. White, um… I’m out too”

“You’re _what_?”

Jesse looked at the ground. “I don’t think I can do this anymore. So um… I’m retiring, I guess.”

Mr. White couldn’t believe it. “That methylamine that we stole,” he motioned to the other room. “That we nearly killed ourselves trying to steal, that methylamine, when cooked, is worth nearly $300 million dollars. You’re telling me that you’re willing to walk away from that?”

“We’re walking away from the meth” Mike intervened. “Not the methylamine. Jesse and I will be taking our two-thirds and we’re selling it. I’ve got a connection, a guy I knew from my time with Fring. This guy has the capital and he’s motivated. Highly.”

“Mike’s thinking we’ll clear, like, 5 million. Each”

“I’ll pay off my guys in lock-up out of my share. And those legacy costs that you’re so fond of, you won’t have to worry about anymore. And then I will be going on my way. Jesse too”

“It’s a solid plan” Jesse told Mr. White. “You can come in on this with us. That’d be cool. ‘Course, you know, you are free to hold onto your third and keep cooking”

“You’ll be selling to my competitors” Mr. White said.

“This guy and his crew are way out in Phoenix. It’s a big country, Walter. Whole lot of meth-heads” Mike said.

Walter walked over to Jesse. “Pennies on the dollar, Jesse. And that’s what you’re gonna sell out for? Pennies?” he spat the word as if it was poison. “Why?”

“Five million isn’t pennies.” Jesse said, looking straight at Mr. White. “It’s more money that I‘ve ever seen. And when it comes down to it, are we in the meth business? Or the money business?”   


	15. Chapter 15

 

They were waiting for this man that would take them away to their new lives. Castiel was sitting on Jesse’s suitcase and Jesse was looking for his pot.

“You know that he won’t take you if you’re high” Castiel warned.

Jesse glared at the angel. Castiel shrugged. “Saul’s words, not mine”

“Whatever man, I can’t even find it. That guy Huell must have taken it from me”

An unmarked red van parked in front of them. “Time to go” Castiel said getting up from the case.

“Son of a bitch” Jesse muttered under his breath as he walked away from the van.

“What? Jesse!” Castiel yelled as the van pulled away. “What is it?”

Jesse didn’t stop walking. “I have some unfinished business” he said.

                                       -----------------                 ----------------                  -----------------

Jesse charged into Saul’s office. He ignored Huell and locked the door behind him.

“He didn’t show? Why didn’t you call?” asked Saul getting out of his chair.

Jesse marched around the desk and punched him. Saul fell to the floor. “Stop!” he cried. Jesse kicked him and didn’t stop. “Code red! Huell!” He crawled and opened his drawer to retrieve his gun.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Jesse got to it first.

Huell and Francesca came rushing in. Jesse aimed the gun at them. “Back off!” They stopped in their tracks. “Stay where you are!” He pointed the gun at Saul’s head.

“What? I don’t know what happened here! What did I do?” said a freaked out Saul.

“You stole it from me! You and him,” Jesse motioned Huell with his head. “You took it right out of my pocket, didn’t you?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down! Yes, okay! I had Huell lift out dope. I told you, I couldn’t risk the guy not taking you”

“No! Before. The cigarettes! You stole the cigarette!”

“What?”

“The ricin cigarette! You had him steal it off of me! And all for that asshole Mr. White! He poisoned Brock! He poisoned Brock and you- You helped him!”

“Okay Jesse, calm down” Saul lifted his hands in defense.

“Say it again!” Jesse pointed the gun back and forth between Saul and Huell. “Tell me one more time to calm down! Come on!”

“Jesse” Castiel said firmly. 

“You! Stay out of this!” Jesse barked back.

Saul looked at him like he was crazy. “Who are you talking to?” Jesse glared at him. If looks could kill… “Okay, okay! I’m sorry! Yes, I had Huell lift your cigarette but Walt made me. He told me he was helping you, he was saving you! I never would’ve agreed to it if I’d known what he was going to do. Jesse you’ve gotta believe me. I didn’t want any of this!” he pleaded.

Jesse grabbed Saul’s car keys and walked out. Nobody tried to stop him. He drove like a mad man until he reached Mr. White’s house. He kicked in the door and started pouring gasoline all over the carpet, the furniture, everywhere. He then lit up his lighter…

“Jesse!”

“Don’t try to stop me Castiel! I’m going to do it!” he yelled without looking up.

“What?” he heard someone say. Jesse looked up and saw Castiel standing there but he hadn’t spoken. It was Hank. He had a gun aimed at him. “Stop what you’re doing and turn and face me!” he yelled.

“You wanna--? You wanna know what he did?” Jesse said with teary eyes. “You wanna hear about it?”

“Jesse, put out the lighter” Hank instructed.

Jesse didn’t listen. “He poisoned a little kid! An eight year old boy just because, you know, just as a move!” he yelled.

“Walt’s a bastard. Secret’s out. We’ll talk about it. But I need you to put out the lighter, okay?”

Jesse huffed. Hank walked towards him with caution; gun still aimed at him. “Jesse, I don’t want to kill you. And you don’t want to be killed. So put it out”

Castiel approached Jesse slowly. He gently took the lighter from his hand and put it out. “He can’t keep getting away with it!” Jesse screamed at the sky. “He can’t keep getting away with it!” he yelled again, this time at Hank.

“He won’t” Hank replied. “You really want to burn him down? Let’s do it together.”


	16. Chapter 16

 

It had worked! They finally had Walt! Mr. White was sitting in Hank’s car, hand-cuffed. Jesse was waiting inside Mr. White’s car. Castiel was with him, sitting in the back, when he saw a pick-up truck in the distance, from the rearview mirror.

“Who the hell is this?” asked Agent Gomez, outside. “Tribal police?”

Suddenly Mr. White started shouting for Hank, warning him. Hank looked at him and drew his gun.

“Jesse? W-Who is that?” Castiel asked, afraid of what might happen. He didn’t like this at all.

Jesse looked from his seat as the truck parked a few feet from them and several men came out. They were five at least, Todd among them, all heavily armed. They drew their weapons and aimed for Hank and Agent Gomez.

“Police! Drop your weapons!” Hank shouted.

“Jack! Don’t do it!” Mr. White shouted from the van. Jesse froze.

“Drop your weapons!” Hank told them again.

“You heard the man! Put them down!” Gomez backed up.

“How do we know you’re cops?” one of the men shouted. “Show us some ID!”

“Damn straight! Let’s see some badges!”

‘ _As if you needed to see them_ ’ thought Castiel.

“Jack! Jack don’t do it!” Mr. White screamed. No one listened to him. “No Jack, it’s off! Jack!”

Without looking away, Jesse grabbed the car’s handle. He looked at Castiel and nodded. He opened the car’s door slowly.

“We’ll give ourselves up if you show us some badges. Simple as that!” shouted the man named Jack. “How ‘bout it?”

Hank and Steven stood their ground. For a few moments nothing happened. Jack looked at his men, silently giving the order. Bullets flew in every direction as both parties shot each other.

                            -----------------                        ------------------                       ------------------

At last, the gun fire stopped.  Castiel looked up; he was crouching, arms and wings around Jesse’s body, protecting him. He slowly let him go and motioned for him to crawl under the car. He then, stood up to look around. Gomez had been shot, and so had Hank but Agent Gomez hadn’t been so lucky. Or perhaps he had been. Castiel shook his head and pushed that thought away. He watched as Hank crawled towards Steve’s shotgun but Jack got to it first.

“Whoa, simmer down there, sparky” he told him as he picked up the shotgun.

Todd looked around. “Hey Uncle Jack, I don’t see Jesse Pinkman. He was right here before”

“Anybody got eyes on Pinkman?” Jack asked his crew.

“No” they answered.

“What do you figure? Maybe he headed down that gully there?” Jack told Todd. He gave him Agent Gomez’ shotgun.

“That’s where I’d go” answered Todd.

“Frankie, Lester, go find him” Jack ordered.

“Jack” Kenny called. “These guys are DEA” he said lifting Hank’s badge.

Jack pulled the safety from his gun, ready to shoot Hank. Mr. White started shouting for Jack to stop. He got out of the car and ran to him, pleading to spare Hank’s life. Cas knew there was no way out of it when Jack found out Hank was a DEA Agent.

“Sorry, man. Just no scenario where this guy lives” he aimed his gun at Hank again.  

“No, no, no! I have money! It’s buried out here” Mr. White sighed. “It’s $80 million dollars”

That stopped Jack momentarily. “So _that’s_ what got this party started, huh? But this money of yours won’t do me much good in prison”

“You can go anywhere. You can do anything! Think about it” Mr. White insisted. “You can have any future that you want, Jack. _Eighty million!_ And all you’ve got to do,” he nodded towards Hank. “Is let him go”

“That’s a hell of an offer. What do you think, fed?” Jack asked Hank. “Would you take that deal?”

“It’s _Hank_ ” Mr. White corrected him. “His name is Hank”

Jack nodded, smiling. “How about it Hank? Should I let you go?”

Hank exhaled, Castiel could tell he was in a lot of pain. “My name is ASAC Schrader” he said. “And you can go fuck yourself” 

“Hank, listen to me” Mr. White said very slowly. “You gotta tell him. You gotta tell him that we can work this out. Please, please.” But it was useless. Hank wasn’t going to give in.

“What? You want me to beg? You’re the smartest guy I’ve ever met. And you’re too stupid to see, he made up his mind 10 minutes ago” Hank said. A single tear fell from Mr. White’s eye.

“Do what you gotta do” Hank told Jack. He barely had time to finish the sentence before Jack pulled the trigger.

The shot echoed through the desert and Mr. White fell to the ground, crying. Jack wasted no time and dug out the money. His guys came back. “No sign of Pinkman” they said. They loaded the barrels with the money and shoved Steven and Hank’s bodies on the pit instead.

Mr. White was still on the floor when Jack spoke to him again. “Hey” he snapped his fingers in front of him. “I’m leaving you a barrel. Boys are gonna load it for you. You got the keys to these cuffs?” When Mr. White didn’t answer, Todd gently took them off and helped him up. “I’m sorry for your loss” he said before turning away. 


	17. Chapter 17

 

Jack stood next to Mr. White. “My nephew here, he respects you. He would never forgive me if things went another way” Mr. White didn’t seem to be paying him attention. “Also, you caught me in a good mood” Jack continued. “So here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna get in your car and you’re gonna drive out of here, alright? No hard feelings, understand me?” He lifted his hand to shake on it. “We square?”

Mr. White still didn’t move. “Hey man, I gotta know we’re square, or we’re gonna have to go that other way” At last Mr. White seemed to react and shook Jack’s hand. The man, pleased, walked away.

“Pinkman”

Jack stopped and turned again. Castiel looked at Mr. White.

“Pinkman” he repeated. “You still owe me”

“If you can find him, we’ll kill him” Jack said.

“Found him” Mr. White breathed.

“No…” Castiel whispered.

“No!” Jesse screamed as they dragged him from underneath the car. “Get off me! Get off!”

One of Jack’s henchmen forced him onto his knees as Mr. White watched, face hard as stone. Castiel ran to Jesse’s side. He kneeled in front of him and grabbed him by his shirt. “It’s okay! Jesse, it’s okay! I’m here, I’m not going to leave you, understand me? I’m here until the end.”

Jesse calmed down a little and looked up to the sky where two falcons were flying. Jack took the safety off. “Good to go?” he asked Mr. White. Mr. White nodded and Jesse closed his eyes.

“Hey Uncle Jack” Todd interrupted. Jesse opened his eyes again. Todd walked to his uncle. “He was out here with those feds, right? Working with them. Shouldn’t we maybe find out what he told them first? Because, I mean, he must have told them some stuff that might not be too good for us. And I’ll bet we could get it out of him back home. I mean, I can do it. Me and him, we’ve got history” Todd looked at Mr. White. “And then, you know, we’d take care of the job after that.”

Jack put down the gun. “Works for me. Work for you?” he told Mr. White.

Jesse looked at him, his eyes begging, _pleading_ him not to do it. Mr. White locked eyes with his former student and partner. He nodded. Jesse shook his head slightly. “No” he whispered.

A man carried him away to the pick-up truck. “Let’s go pal”

“No! No, no!” Jesse shouted as he struggled.

“Wait” Mr. White said. He walked towards Jesse until they were face to face. “I watched Jane die.” he told him.

“What?” Castiel said, not believing what he’d just heard.

“I was there. And I watched her die. I watched her overdose and choke to death” Mr. White said coldly.

“Stop it! Just stop it!! Don’t you see he’s had enough?!” Castiel screamed, horrified.

Mr. White continued. “I could have saved her. But I didn’t.”

When he finished, he walked away with nothing else to say. Castiel stood still, frozen, after Mr. White’s confession. That was it. The final blow. Jesse stopped struggling after that. Instead he just let himself be carried away. Any strength or desire to fight, gone. They got him into the car where he sat between two of the henchmen. The cars pulled away and Castiel stretched his wings, flying behind them, as he wiped tears from his face.

 

 

Jesse was laying on the concrete floor fast asleep; Castiel sat with the man’s head on his legs, running a soothing hand through his short hair.  He looked at him, the right side of his face was swollen and red with dry blood thanks to Todd’s ‘questioning’. These animals had stopped at nothing to get whatever information they could from Jesse. They had beaten, carved, tortured and burned the information out of him mercilessly, all the time while Castiel watched. That was what enraged Castiel the most, that he had been powerless to stop them. He felt useless. He knew Jesse had a few broken ribs but when he’d tried to heal them, Jesse had refused, claiming they would only break them again and beat him senseless.  

Cas ran his index finger around Jesse’s wrists, they were red and raw from the hand-cuffs he always wore now. If it hadn’t been enough, Jack had bounded him like an animal, with hand-cuffs and ankle-cuffs that connected to a chain around his waist, and dumped him on this concrete underground cage.

Jesse started stirring when he heard noises outside. A white light blinded Castiel momentarily when Todd pulled the tarp that covered the cage. Jesse was fully awake now and started crawling away to the far end of the cage as Todd climbed down the ladder.  When he realized he was cornered, he maneuvered to turn his body around.

“Look, I gave you what you wanted!” he cried. Todd approached him without a word. Jesse lifted his arms as to protect himself and keep Todd away. “Come on, man, please. Hey, please. I told you where to find the tape, okay?”

Todd tried to grab him “Yup” he said.

Jesse started freaking out. “Hey, just go. Just go there. Just go to his house and get it!”

“We’re on it” Todd said, struggling to get a hold of Jesse.

“Get it! No one else knows about it. Just me and his partner!” Jesse whimpered, crawling away again. Castiel flinched upon seeing what these monsters had reduced his kid to.

Todd put his arms under Jesse’s armpits and dragged him to the ladder. “Okay, okay”

“No one else knows, I swear!” Jesse kept screaming.

Todd helped him up the ladder and guided him to a warehouse. Jesse seemed to calm down as he walked with a hand to his side, looking around. It was a meth lab. Todd grabbed a hanging wire and tethered him to a rail. He then took Jesse’s handcuffs off and exited the building, leaving Jesse alone. Castiel walked next to Jesse and offered him his arm for support. Jesse took it and together they walked to the far end of the lab where Castiel could distinguish a picture of…

Jesse started whimpering again.

“Andrea” Cas said softly. 


	18. Chapter 18

 

It was a chilly night and Castiel took off his trench coat and put it around Jesse’s shoulders, who was shaking and had only his bloodied t-shirt to protect him from the cold. They heard Uncle Jack’s voice outside: “C’mon, let’s go and watch some more of that crybaby rat, huh?”

“Don’t listen to him.” Castiel told Jesse.

But Jesse didn’t seem to be listening. He was staring at Andrea and Brock’s picture. Todd had let him have it after one particularly good cook. After a few moments, he took off the paper clip and looked at Castiel, smiling a little.

“Looks like they’re dumber than we thought.” he said showing the paper clip to Castiel. He proceeded to pick the locks of his handcuffs. Moments later, the cuffs opened with a soft _*click*_   Jesse sighed in relief and rubbed his raw wrists before collapsing on his “bed” or at least that was what Todd had called it when he gave it to him.

Castiel smiled at seeing his friend, even if just a little, more comfortable and covered him with his trench coat again before curling in around himself next to him and closing his eyes; wings wrapped around them both to keep the chill out.

 

 

“Jesse, I-I really don’t think this is a good idea” Castiel said as he watched Jesse trying to reach the bars of the cage. He had made a tower out of his few belongings and was currently standing on it.

“Come on…” Jesse said, struggling to reach the bars of the cage. “Well staying here is _not_ an option, Cas. So you either help me or you keep your mouth shut” 

They heard voices outside. “Shit” Jesse whispered. He jumped off and returned everything to its place before cuffing himself again.

Someone took the tarp off. It was Todd. “Hey, you awake?”

Jesse faked waking up and rolled to his side. “Yeah” he answered.

Todd opened the grate. “We had some Ben & Jerry’s” he said casually. “There’s peanut butter cup and AmeriCone Dream” He put the bowl on a bucket and lowered it into the cage. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I got you some of each. There you go” he said as Jesse started to eat it slowly. “So, that batch that you just cooked was 96 %. Kind of figured you deserved a little something” he said like Jesse was some dog that deserved a treat for being a good boy.

“Thanks” Jesse said quietly.

Todd stayed there a little while, smoking his cigarette. “Well, better get some sleep” he said, closing the grate. “Tomorrow’s gonna be a big day”

“Hey, Todd” Jesse called.

“Yeah?”

“Would you mind leaving the tarp off tonight?” he asked.

“Well, might get cold”

“No, I don’t mind. I just… I just wanna see the stars”

Todd looked up. It was a beautiful starry night.

“Sure, okay” he agreed.

“Thanks” Jesse said.

“Well, good night, Jesse”

“Night” Jesse replied.

As soon as Todd was out of sight, Jesse picked the lock of his handcuffs, and built his tower again. This time he jumped and grabbed the bars.

“Jesse, I still don’t think this is a good idea” Castiel said, but got up and grabbed Jesse’s feet to support him.

Jesse huffed. “Be quiet, Castiel. I need to concentrate here” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself. “Okay, okay, okay” He grabbed the lock and pulled. “Come on, bitch”

“Castiel, help me out now” he said. Castiel flew outside the cage and opened the grate. He helped Jesse out. As soon as he was out, he ran faster than Castiel had ever seen. The angel ran behind him and hid behind a wall. “Jesse…” Cas whispered. His heart was beating fast. _‘This is not a good idea. Not good. Not good. Not good.’_   Jesse looked around. The compound was surrounded by a fence with barbed wire. There was no one to be seen. With a quick look, Jesse checked no one was following him.

It was now or never. He ran for the fence and started climbing; he didn’t notice the camera that had just taped him. In an instant, men surrounded him and shone a light. Jesse climbed back down in defeat. He had been so close. _So close_.

“Go ahead! Do it!” he challenged them. “Just kill me now and get it over with because there’s _no way_ I’m doing one more cook for you psycho fucks!”


	19. Chapter 19

 

Todd knocked on the door. A woman answered. _Andrea_. “Yes?”

“Hi, ma’am. How you doing tonight?” Todd asked with a smile on his face. “You’re Andrea, right?”

“How can I help you?”

“You know Jesse Pinkman?”

Andrea frowned and Todd continued. “Right? Well I’m a friend of his. My name’s Todd. I’m sorry to bother you so late, but it’s nice to meet you”

Andrea took the lock off and opened the door. “How is Jesse? Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s okay. Actually, I brought him with me”

“Jesse’s here?”

“Yeah, he’s right over there in that truck” Todd pointed.

Andrea stepped outside to the porch. “Where?” she asked.

Inside the van, Jesse banged his head against the window. He was cuffed again and had a gag over his mouth. “No!” he screamed desperately but Andrea couldn’t hear him.

Todd turned around and aimed his gun at Andrea’s head. “Just so you know, this isn’t personal” He pulled the trigger.

“NOOOO!!!” Jesse howled through his gag. “No! No, no, no-o-o…” he cried. Somebody had to pull him back by the chains of his handcuffs. Todd opened the door again, Jesse tried to force his way out of the van.

“Whoa, hey! Settle down!” Uncle Jack ordered harshly from the front seat. “Settle down” he said again, softer this time. Jesse was still sobbing and breathing heavily against Todd’s chest.

“Hey, remember,” Uncle Jack said. “There’s still the kid.”  

 

“Hey,” Jesse said, a barely audible whisper.

Castiel was leaning against the cage’s wall and Jesse’s head was resting on his angel’s shoulder. Castiel had his arms and wings wrapped around Jesse, but he was being extremely careful not to squeeze him or do anything too rashly that would hurt him further. He was so weak these days. He didn’t sleep or ate anymore. Not after the time when Castiel had talked him into it and fed him. But when Castiel did, Jesse’s abused stomach rejected it and threw it all back, making him sob as he gripped his middle. Castiel then had had to rub his belly in soothing circles to settle his stomach again, as he rocked him back and forth, apologizing over and over again. On top of that, Jack still kept Jesse in chains and made him cook every day.

“Hmm?”

“Do… Do you remember when we first met?” Jesse asked; his eyes red from crying.

Castiel looked down at him, surprised. “What kind of question is that? Of course I do”

“I-I asked you if you could fly carrying me.” Jesse laughed. But then stopped to place a hand on his side. “Ow” he said miserably.

Castiel laughed softly. “That was a total failure.”

Jesse continued. “You think, you could…” He coughed once and rasped out. “Fly us out of here?”

Castiel looked at him sadly. He closed his eyes as a single tear rolled down his face. “Yeah, yeah I think I could.” he said; his voice cracking. “Do you want me to?” Castiel asked, stupidly.

Of course he would want him to! This place was hell and Jesse didn’t deserve any of it. These people had pushed him past the breaking point. Had reduced him to this. A mere shadow of the mischievous, bright, and full of life kid Castiel remembered. He pulled him closer.

Jesse smiled sadly, though Castiel couldn’t see him. “No, I have to do this for Brock.” He sniffled. “But you have to promise me something.” He looked directly at Castiel and the angel held his gaze.

“Anything” he said.

“You have to promise me that when I die, you will go to him and you’ll look after him, you will protect him from this life and these monsters, you understand me?”

Castiel shook his head. “You won’t need me to. Because you will _not_ die here, Jesse. You are going to get out of here and protect him yourself. You will make sure he’s always safe and you won’t let him make the same mistakes you made. You are going to take him to school, help him with his homework, you are going to watch him grow, meet a girl and form a family…” Jesse started sobbing softly as he listened, tears falling freely from his eyes. “Because this is _not_ the end, Jesse. I promise.” Castiel kissed his boy’s head.

A man took off the tarp suddenly and lowered the ladder. “Time for another cook” he announced. He climbed down the ladder and kicked Jesse on his ribs. “Get up!” Jesse cried out and stood up abruptly, clutching his side. The man shoved him towards the ladder. “Come on, rat, I don’t have all night!”

They climbed out and the man led Jesse to the lab roughly, making it difficult for him to walk in his ankle-cuffs. He chained him as usual and shoved him forward. “Get to work”

Jesse stumbled and fell, causing his leash to yank him and injure his broken ribs. Jesse cried out in pain and hugged himself. The man huffed in annoyance. “I don’t get paid nearly enough to deal with this shit” He gripped Jesse from his hair and yanked him up.  “I said, get to work you worthless rat!” he shouted on Jesse’s face. Despite the harsh words, he was smart enough not to shove him this time. Jesse whimpered and nodded quickly, getting to work as fast as his cuffs allowed him.


	20. Chapter 20

 

Jesse was finishing the batch when Todd came for him. Castiel got up from his seat. Something was not right. Todd unlocked him and put his cuffs on again. He motioned for Jesse to follow him and he did without a word. He knew better than that, now. They walked to the club house and entered. Castiel stopped on his tracks when he saw Mr. White just standing there. Jack spoke.

“Yeah, you see what I’m talking about, you son of a bitch?” He grabbed Jesse from his arm and pulled him forward, making him stumble. “Now, does this look like a partner to you? Come here, take a look. Come here!”

Mr. White stepped forward looking at Jesse.

“Take a look at him. Have a gander”

Jesse was covered in scars. He looked ashamed and scared. He cowered under Mr. White’s gaze. Jack kept talking. “This is my partner. Right, partner? Right, buddy?” Jack teased. “Hardworking, good partner. Fifty-fifty partner.” Jesse looked away, anywhere but Mr. White. He didn’t know what to do. He felt exposed.

Jack was getting tired. “Can you hurry this shit up? Make it quick?”

Out of nowhere, Mr. White pranced at Jesse and tackled him to the floor.

“Jesse!” Castiel screamed.

“Toddy, get him off, would you?” Jack said, annoyed.

“Yeah, Toddy, get them both off.” Kenny mocked as the crew laughed.

Todd tried to separate them but he couldn’t and Castiel noticed something in Mr. White’s hand. A car beep sounded outside and a machine gun popped from the trunk.  Castiel barely had the time to register what was happening before bullets came pouring down on them. Time seemed to slow down as he threw himself at Mr. White and Jesse. He spread his wings, shielding them both with his body. Bullets kept coming and Castiel could only hear glass shattering, things breaking, bodies hitting the floor, until at last everything stopped. He got off of the two men and Mr. White rolled off of Jesse.

Todd, who had hit the floor, crawled towards his uncle. “Uncle Jack.” He peeked outside the window but only saw Mr. White’s car. “Jesus” he whispered. “Mr. White…” He never finished that sentence as Jesse launched himself at him and started choking him with his chains. The two men rolled around, Todd desperately trying to get Jesse off of him but Jesse didn’t let go.

Castiel and Mr. White just stood there watching. Neither of them intervened. Jesse and Todd kept grunting until at last Jesse snapped Todd’s neck. He searched for his cuff’s keys in Todd’s pockets and, finding them, started to take them off. Meanwhile Jack crawled away but Mr. White picked up a pistol and aimed it at his head. Jack lifted his hand.

“Wait, wait” he picked up his cigarette and gave it a few puffs. “You want your money, right? You wanna know where it is?” he asked Mr. White. “You pull the trigger, you’ll never—“

The shot echoed through the club house. Jesse turned his head, taking off the ankle-cuffs. He stood up and looked at Mr. White for a long time. Mr. White crouched and slid the gun to Jesse. Jesse looked around briefly and picked it up. He aimed it at the man standing before him, like he’d done with other people a million times before.

“Do it” Mr. White told him as he nodded. “You want this”

“Say the words.” Jesse said. “Say you want this!” He shook his head. “Nothing happens until I hear you say it.”

“I want this.” said Mr. White.

Jesse was about to do it when he noticed Mr. White was bleeding from his right side. He had been shot. Jesse lowered the gun and dropped it. “Then do it yourself.” he said, leaving.

Outside, Jesse walked towards Todd’s car and opened the door. He looked back at Mr. White who nodded at him. He nodded back and got in. He put the car in reverse and then accelerated. As he busted open the gate of the compound, he started laughing hysterically. He was _free_. At last, he was out of there. Tears came running down his face, but this time of sheer happiness.

Castiel, back at the compound, shot up, spread his wings fully and flew off as high and as fast as he had never before. He let out a shriek that would have left any human deaf, and flew away into the night behind Jesse.

 

_The End_

 

**Well that's all folks. Hope you enjoyed. I'll be fixing a few details now and then.**


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